Allyson Schwartz

What if the Pennsylvania Democratic Party holds a U.S. Senate primary and (almost) no candidates show up? What happens then? The answer is this: National Democrats as well as state Democrats lose big. They lose because the still-embryonic 2016 Pennsylvania Senate race remains one of the 10 top national races that will determine which party controls the Senate. Democrats need the Pennsylvania seat, as well as at least four other seats, to win back the Senate. Losing Pennsylvania almost certainly means failure to gain control of the Senate. Even if Democrats win the presidency in 2016, it will seem a hollow win if Congress stays in GOP control. The stakes could not be higher. Democrats,...

Related "Allyson Schwartz" Articles

What if the Pennsylvania Democratic Party holds a U.S. Senate primary and (almost) no candidates show up? What happens then? The answer is this: National Democrats as well as state Democrats lose big.They lose because the still-embryonic 2016 Pennsylvania...

WASHINGTON — The political dynamics of the new Congress offer opportunities and challenges for Pennsylvania's delegation.
Republicans now run the Senate and enjoy a larger majority in the House.
That puts Democrat Bob Casey in the minority for...

An historic change in Pennsylvania's governor's office and the campaigning leading up to Democrat Tom Wolf's victory was the focus of a political year in which a pair of Lehigh Valley legislators also saw their congressional roles rise.
Republican Gov....

— Among congressman-elect Ryan Costello's first tasks? Figuring out his government-issued cellphone.
The Republican from West Chester had only had a couple of hours Wednesday to fiddle around with the security-laden device when Costello began detailing...

Last night's election results were the stuff of sweeping gestures.
The first modern Pennsylvania governor to be denied a second term and the end of the eight-year party swaps. Republicans taking definitive control of the U.S. Senate. The GOP padding...

Katie McGinty, the fourth place finisher in the May Democratic primary, wants the top spot in the state Democratic Party.And Tom Wolf wants her to have it.Wolf, the Democratic nominee for governor, has asked McGinty to be the party’s leader and she has...

WASHINGTON — B. Braun Medical and other makers of medical devices cried foul over a 2.3 percent tax imposed on their industry by Obamacare, saying it could force them to cut jobs, move overseas and stop growth.
Seven months since its implementation,...

Pennsylvania's two U.S. senators sit on the powerful tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, which will begin its investigation of the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups at a hearing on Tuesday.
Republicans and Democrats are united...

The mayors of Allentown and Bethlehem were among the thousands of individuals and corporations who donated a total of $43 million to President Obama's second inauguration.
Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski contributed $300 and his wife, Lisa, gave $305....

If Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski faced Gov. Tom Corbett in a Pennsylvania gubernatorial matchup today he would win.
Pawlowski, who has hinted at an interest in the 2014 governor's race, performs at the top of the list of potential Democratic...

U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz wasted little time using New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's decision to accept expanded Medicaid to peer pressure Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett to do the same.
Schwartz, who is perhaps readying her attack lines for a certain...

Montgomery County U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz was very clear she did not want to discuss her possible run for governor following a lengthy round table in Philadelphia with Vice President Joe Biden on gun violence.
"We should talk about gun...

Pennsylvania lawmakers from both parties are supporting the renewed push to repeal a tax on medical device sales created to help pay for the 2010 health care law.
While Republicans U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey and U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent have been advocates for...

On the eve of President Obama's State of the Union address, Vice President Joe Biden will be in Philadelphia Monday holding a roundtable with local law enforcement about gun violence.
Biden will be joined by congressional Democrats, including U.S. Sen....

If U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz, who is widely known to be eyeing a run for statewide office, does wait and take on incumbent GOP U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey in 2016, both politicians' recent campaign finance filings foreshadow a high-priced race between two...

With one Republican and one Democrat now representing the Lehigh Valley, this will be a common occurrence: Charlie Dent and Matt Cartwright split their vote Wednesday on temporarily suspending the debt ceiling.
Dent, 15th district, supported it....

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett decided Wednesday to let the federal government run a health insurance exchange mandated by the 2010 Affordable Care Act for Pennsylvanians rather than set up a state-based site. Read The Morning Call's full story on the...

U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz joked Tuesday afternoon that her convention remarks wouldn't be unlike the "one-minute" speeches lawmakers give on the House floor, except this time with a few more viewers than the typical C-SPAN junkies.The...

Efforts by civil rights groups to block Pennsylvania's controversial voter ID law failed Wednesday when a judge ruled that there wasn't enough evidence to declare it unconstitutional. The decision evoked across the board reaction from Barack Obama's...

One man wore a Barack Obama mask and doctor's scrubs and held a sign that said, "Thank You for Subsidizing my Poor Life Choices." Tea Party faithful, flanked by massive yellow "Don't Tread on Me" flags sang, "Let's have a party, a...